The council says it is "pause further works" on the changes to the junction and will review feedback from the local community before deciding what do to next.

Planning bosses at NELC had previously said that they are confident the work - expected to take up to eight months to complete and due to start in June - would lead to a 50 per cent reduction in congestion.

A busy Toll Bar Roundabout as pupils make their way to Tollbar Academy

NELC had also an equal amount of consideration was given to both reducing congestion and improving the safety of the junction for the hundreds of students who cross the A16 to access Tollbar Academy.

For the work to be completed, Station Road in New Waltham and Waltham would have had to have been closed for unknown periods of time throughout the works, which led to an outcry of calls from the local community for the scheme to be scrapped altogether.

Today's unexpected move from the council follows a series of meetings, information events and letter drops held recently about the proposed works, which has led to a number of suggestions from the local community and businesses to NELC.

Work had already begun weeks ago to plan, design and outline the finer details of the Toll Bar scheme, but those behind the scenes works have been shelved for now.

Announcing the review, councillor Dave Watson, cabinet member for energy and the environment, said the aims of the upgrading scheme - to improve the local highway network, to future proof it for housing and other developments and enhance the safety of road users and pedestrians - remains the same however.

Heavy traffic at Toll Bar Roundabout as pupils make their way to Tollbar Academy

He said: "We’ve said all along that we want to know what local people think about the nuts and bolts of the implementation and there’s been some well-informed local feedback on that from the events and other activity we’ve carried out.

"As a result, and to ensure what’s eventually delivered is the right solution in the right place at the right time, we’ve decided to pause further work until we’ve examined all the feedback and measure it against the evidence and option currently planned as part of the design process.

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"That option involved modelling the current and future traffic flows and pedestrian crossing movements and the assessment concluded that the introduction of a signalised junction with intelligent traffic signals was the best solution.

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"However, it’s important as we move forward that we take the time to take on board in more detail the feedback we’ve received and factor that in.

"I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to make suggestions on the proposals. We’ve listened to your feedback and as a result, I’ve instructed officers to temporarily pause the work until we can see if it impacts on the current option."